This Weekend in Theatre: February 9-12

February 9 - 12, 2017

Grab your valentine and head out for a date night at the theatre! I promise this list has prices to suit ALL wallets!

Oklahoma
37 Postcards - Jewel Box Theatre, Oklahoma City
***Thursday - Saturday 8:00 pm, Sunday 2:30 pm, tickets are $15-20 (but they have a wintertainment special: last three shows for $20...that's like two shows for free!)
Pippin - OKC Broadway (Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall), Oklahoma City
***Thursday 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 8:00 pm, Sunday 7:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday 2:00 pm, tickets are $39-100 (playing through February 12)
Assassins - Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
***Wednesday and Thursday 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 8:00 pm, Saturday 2:00 pm, Sunday 5:00 pm, tickets are $25-62 (playing Wed-Sun through February 26)
Fences - Pollard Theatre Company, Guthrie
***Friday and Saturday 8:00 pm, tickets are $25 (playing through March 4, Sunday 2:00 pm matinees begin February 19 at 2:00 pm)
How Deep is the Ocean? - UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond
***one night only! Sunday 7:30 pm, tickets are FREE (plus my sweet friend Mackenzie Carpenter is in this and the UCO Jazz Lab is an AWESOME venue!)

Texas
An American in Paris - Dallas Summer Musicals (Music Hall at Fair Park), Dallas, Texas
***Thursday  - Sunday 7:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday 1:30 pm, tickets are $25-105 (playing through February 12)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch - AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas, Texas
***Thursday and Sunday 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 8:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday 2:00 pm, tickets are $29-99 (playing through February 12)

Rumors – Butterfield Stage Players, Gainesville, TX

Show 43 of 2016

Neil Simon’s work was a theme in my theatre adventures in 2016. I think I saw four of his shows if I remember correctly. The last one of the year was Rumors, produced by Butterfield Stage Players in Gainesville, Texas.

I really enjoy this theatre company. They are small, but very talented and I’ve enjoyed the shows I have seen there. Their theatre is located in an old Carnegie Library close to downtown. When visiting this theatre I recommend stopping through downtown for dinner and shopping as well. Gainesville is a town with lots of history and charm.

Rumors was the second show of their 2016-2017 regular season and included many new faces to the stage. The plot of the show centers on five couples who attend a dinner party at another couple’s Manhattan home only to find out that the wife is missing and the husband has been shot. Hilarity ensues.

I am not a huge Neil Simon fan, regardless of how many shows I saw this year, but the presentation at Butterfield was top notch. There was a lot of physical comedy with doors slamming, cops appearing, and mistaken identities. I certainly did not leave the theatre disappointed.

I am always excited when newcomers take the stage. Theatre is such a wonderful hobby and passion that is it great to see people get involved. There was also a real life husband and wife duo in the cast and I love that community theatre allows families to work together to put on a show.

The set was phenomenal. This theatre may be small, but when it comes to dressing a stage for a play they do a wonderful job. As the show was set in a single setting they were able to create a fairly elaborate apartment complete with stairs to a second floor. I love the illusion of apartments on stage. I had little doubt in my mind that the actors were indeed moving from room to room, though I went to a workshop a few weeks later and realized the tight quarters they were in when they were ‘in’ the upstairs rooms, yet during the show the set allowed for my imagination to take me away and into the story, doing exactly what good theatre should do.

This was not my favorite Butterfield production, not due to quality, just simply because Neil Simon is not my favorite, however my mom thought it was the best she’d seen (I was partial to Arsenic and Old Lace, which I will talk about soon). Overall I thought Butterfield did a great job with Rumors. It was extremely funny and entertaining and made for a great night of theatre.

This is our first year as season ticket holders at Butterfield, but I am glad to support another theatre close to my home. They have The 39 Steps opening in a few weeks and tickets are on sale now. This is another one of my favorite shows and I am excited to see their production.


For more information:
Production: Rumors
Company/Venue: Butterfield Stage Players
City: Gainesville, TX

This Weekend in Theatre: February 2-5

There is no excuse to be bored on the weekends! There is so much going on, especially in the theatre world. I am going to TRY to highlight shows that are coming each weekend on Wednesdays (we'll see how long I succeed!) These are the shows that have made it to my personal calendar of theatre, there are TONS more and as I get better at this I'll highlight more companies.

February 2 - 5, 2017

Oklahoma
37 Postcards - Jewel Box Theatre, Oklahoma City
***Thursday - Saturday 8:00 pm, Sunday 2:30 pm, tickets are $15-20 (but they have a wintertainment special: last three shows for $20...that's like two shows for free!)
Peter and the Starcatcher - Theatre Tulsa, Tulsa
***Thursday - Saturday 8:00 pm, Sunday 2:00 pm, tickets are $20-22
Steel Magnolias - Claremore Productions, Inc., Claremore
***Friday and Saturday 7:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm, tickets are $15-25

Texas
An American in Paris - Dallas Summer Musicals (Music Hall at Fair Park), Dallas, Texas
***Thursday  - Sunday 7:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday 1:30 pm, tickets are $25-105 (playing through February 12, dark on Mondays)

2017-2018 Broadway Series Preview

Last Tuesday news broke that Hamilton, An American Musical was coming to Oklahoma City in the 2018-2019 season. Later that day news broke it was also coming to Tulsa and then on Saturday word got around that it would be coming to Dallas. All three venues announced that to have the best chance at getting this highly coveted tickets would be to become a season subscriber for 2017-2018.

Let me just say how brilliant I think this marketing tool is. Like, seriously, GENIUS. I love that this little, unknown show has brought about such a resurgence of musical theatre and theatre in general (not to mention history and politics).

That being said I live in a place where Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Dallas are all options for theatre. Oklahoma City is about an hour and a half away, Dallas two hours and Tulsa three hours, all of which are doable for a day trip for a matinee, though Tulsa is certainly better for a weekend trip.

As the show lists for the seasons came pouring in they just got better and better. I am going to highlight each of the seasons as well as Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas (though it will be actually added later because the season has not been announced, but they told me it would be within the next few weeks).

When I put the seasons on my calendar I realized just how easy it would be to see all the shows because if you have conflicts for one you can go to another city and see the shows within a few weeks or months of each other. Friends, it's a good time to be a theatre lover!

So if you are interested in snagging Hamilton tickets when it comes to town check out the seasons and determine which one you will enjoy the most. (I have not decided this for myself yet...)

Onto the shows!


OKC Broadway
Civic Center Musical Hall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• The Little Mermaid - September 5-10, 2017
• Beautiful The Carole King Musical - September 26 - October 1, 2017
• Rent - November 7-12, 2017 (season add on)
• The Color Purple - January 2-7, 2018
• School of Rock - February 6-11, 2018
• Finding Neverland - March 13-18, 2018
• Book of Mormon - April 24-29, 2018 (season add on)
• An American in Paris - June 5-10, 2018
• Hamilton - 2018-2019 Season

Dallas Summer Musicals
Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas

• White Christmas - December 5-10, 2017
• The Color Purple - January 23 - February 4, 2018
• On Your Feet! The Emilio & Gloria Estefan Musical - February 27 - March 11, 2018
• Waitress - March 28 - April 8, 2018
• Les Miserables - April 24 - May 6, 2018
• The Lion King - June 13 - July 8, 2018
• Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns - July 24 - August 5, 2018
• School of Rock - August 15-26, 2018
• Hamilton - 2018-2019 Season
• Aladdin - 2018-2019 Season

Celebrity Attractions
Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma

• The Little Mermaid - August 29 - September 3, 2017
• The Bodyguard - September 26 - October 1, 2017
• A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Marriage - January 23-28, 2018
• Finding Neverland - March 6 - 11, 2018
• The Sound of Music - April 3-8, 2018
• An American in Paris - June 19-24, 2018
• Hamilton - 2018-2019 Season

Broadway at the Bass
Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Texas

• Something Rotten! - January 17-21, 2018
• Finding Neverland - March 20-25, 2018
• Waitress - June 19-24, 2018
• Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns - August 7-12, 2018
• School of Rock - August 28 - September 2, 2018

Broadway Series
AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas, Texas

• Coming soon! (But I hear it's a good one!)

I realize a lot of people will be purchasing season subscriptions in order to secure Hamilton tickets, but several of the groups offer mini packs or bundles to save you some money if you're seeing multiple shows, but not the whole season because you've purchased a season subscription elsewhere. I have been to all of these theatres and they are all fantastic venues and there really aren't bad seats. Season subscriptions are priced based on where you sit as well, so an orchestra seat is more expensive than a balcony seat. The one drawback at most though, is that you have choose which performance you will be seeing when you purchase (like the Tuesday evening or the Sunday matinee). I like my freedom and that feels too binding to me which is why I have stayed away from subscriptions before. I do believe most, if not all, have a ticket marketplace where you can exchange tickets. I have not used this before, as I have not bought a season subscription, so I cannot speak on how good or bad it is.

All the shows listed above (currently) are musicals. Plays do not tour to the extent that musicals do because of scenery issues, though it does happen and rumor has it one company will have a play coming.

Hopefully this helps you determine how you will make your Hamilton dreams come true! I welcome any questions in the comments or to the right through social media or email. If I don't know the answer I will get back to you as soon as I find out!